A Sunday School Lesson On Anger

Here is a Sunday school or Bible study lesson that I hope you can use on the subject of anger.

Righteous Anger

Righteous indignation is a good thing for believers on certain occasions as long as they realize that they are not righteous in themselves because they might become self-righteous. A good example would be if someone sees a child being abused, they are obligated to report it and intervene if at all possible. I remember a pastor saying he saw a lady yanking a two-year old son up from the ground by one arm and pinning him up against the wall. He was angry and he immediately went over to intervene on behalf of the young child. That’s what is called a “righteous indignation.” It’s like the time when Jesus cleaned out the temple because they had made it a den of swindlers so “Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers” (Matt 21:12-13). There’s a time to be good and mad and when being angry is really a good thing; as long as you don’t take justice into your own hands so “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord” (Rom 12:19).

When is it good to be angry?

Name a time when you were mad for the right reason?

Why was Jesus so angry?

Good to be Angry?

Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.”

This is in the imperative form in the Greek and so it’s taken as a command to “be angry” but conditioned on “do not sin.” If you are angry, don’t let the sun go down on it or in other words, deal with it and resolve it if possible with the other person. If that’s not possible, let it go, otherwise you run the risk of giving the Devil an opportunity to use it in your life because it can make us turn bitter so let it make us better. Get angry, resolve it if necessary and if not, put it to bed.

What does the sunset have to do with our anger going away?

What opportunity would the Devil get if we harbor anger?

What are times when we can be angry and not be sinning?

Bad to be Angry?

Proverbs 14:29) “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”

It’s good to be angry at times but I would say most of the time, it’s not good to be angry because the hasty tempered one, the one with a “hair trigger,” can get into a lot of trouble. Road rage aside, sidewalk rage can be bad enough. Raised voices only escalate things as “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife” but on the other hand, “he who is slow to anger quiets contention” (Prov 15:18) and “A soft answer turns away wrath” however “a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov 15:1) so must respond quietly. Solomon knew that’s a difficult task and believed that it easier to take a city than it is to rule one’s spirit as he who is “slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Prov 16:32). That’s not just counting to ten…it’s counting forever! Paul would ask, “Why not rather suffer wrong” (1st Cor 6:7)? Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek (Matt 5:38) and not to retaliate or respond in kind. It’s no longer and “eye for an eye” (Ex 21:24) but forgive seven times seventy (Matt 18:21-22), which means into infinity.

When did you lose your temper?

Did you regret it later?

Do you know someone who is “quick to anger?”

How about someone “slow to anger?”

What about you?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of these lessons. We should be good and angry at what our Good God is angry at but ultimately leave justice to God. He will execute perfect justice in every way. No one will get away with anything, but for those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ, God’s anger has turned to peace (Rom 5:1) because there isn’t any more condemnation (Rom 8:1). Is that true for you? I pray that it is and perhaps, just after reading this, you will trust in Him, however if you reject Him and die before being saved (Heb 9:27) then you “will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev 14:10) and that is why I plead with you to repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.